Girly Girls

Yesterday morning it was rainy so Kelsey and I spent time inside playing. I tried to build her a fort that she could crawl through. However, every time I would start to get one side up, she would pull it down and thought that was pretty funny. Needless to say, I never did make the fort, but we had a blast playing with the blanket anyway. As I was attempting to get a few things put away while Kelsey played on the living room floor, I came in from the kitchen to see this.

I guess her love for reading has transferred to the newspaper! Once the rain stopped, we did head outside to play for a bit. She has recently started to enjoy her mini-slide in the backyard. Again, it doesn't take much to get her giggling. I would stick my head through the different holes and she would think it was funny.
Finally, to end our day of fun I painted Kelsey's toenails. This was the first time I have done this. She sat on my lap mesmerized by it. Afterward it was hard to get them to dry because she wanted to touch them. However, here is the end product. Ta-da! It was a definite girly girl moment for her :)

I am also adding a few updated smiley pictures of Kelsey.

Fair Pictures

Here is my favorite picture of Kelsey from the fair. Below you will also find a full slideshow capturing what we have been up to the past week.

Fair Time in Owatonna

The Steele County Free Fair started in Owatonna on Tuesday. When I first moved here, the big talk was how amazing this fair is. At first, I will admit that I laughed about how much people raved about the event. Now after living here for 4 1/2 years, I have completely become a fan. We have been there everyday. The best part of the fair is there is no admission. Therefore, it makes it easy for me to go for a few hours here and there without worrying about having to spend a lot of money. Kelsey was lucky enough to get a wristband for all the rides from Grandpa and Grandma Skala. So far she has gone on the merry-go-round and the train. She seemed to enjoy them both. We also walked through the animal barns. She liked the animals, but at a distance. When Matt would get closer to the animals she would grab on to his shirt and definitely acted more timid. We have also tried lots of yummy foods. We always have our traditional foods we get such as gyros, cheese curds, Cindy nachos, and ice cream. Kelsey has enjoyed trying them all. It is so fun that she can now eat everything we do. Last year she was just 2 weeks old when we attended the fair. Now here she is eating fair food and going on rides. I have taken a ton of pictures that I will post later once the fair is done. Today we are heading there with Matt's parents, Stacey and the boys, Nate and Diane, as well as meeting up with some of Matt's high school friends and cousins. It has been cold and rainy for the past two days, so I sure hope it warms up and the rain holds off so Kelsey can try a few more rides today. I will post more about the fair soon!

Ugh!

It happened. Something I had always dreaded and hoped would never come true. My all-time favorite quarterback, Brett Favre, crossed the border and became a Viking today. In a word-yuck. I mean, seriously Brett, how could you? After all that Green Bay gave you. You were our leader and we all respected you. But now? I am so torn because I love Brett, (although I could have done without all the soap opera drama that has unfolded over the past few years) but he is now going to be wearing the color that I loathe. Purple. Ish. Brett, you have put me in a very tough predicament. I will always love you as a Packer and will never forget watching you sling the pigskin down the field and make a play that no one else could even think of attempting. But I think my loyalty stops there. I just don't think I can bring myself to cheer for the Vi-queens. I guess all I can hope is that you throw more interceptions than touchdowns (which is actually right up your alley) which will allow the Packers to seal the deal and win the division. I am cheering for you to choke. Sad :( At the very least, this will certainly make for some interesting conversations in our house and Sundays will bring out the competitive side between the Packers (yes, Kelsey is a Packer fan) and Viking fan in our house. In the end, Brett, you will always be the Leader of the Pack in my book. For now, I will continue to wear black for the rest of the day as a sign of mourning that you have crossed over to the dark side. For those that think I am being a little too harsh, check back with me a little later when the nasty taste in my mouth has subsided and maybe I will be a little more open to the idea. Maybe.

Kelsey's Top Ten

I thought it would be fun to start a tradition of making a top ten list every once and awhile to show what Kelsey likes and how she is changing. Here is my first attempt. I put them in order from her least to most favorite.

10. Digging through her diaper bag and taking everything out

9. Playing Peek-A-Boo and saying "I see"

8. Singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and saying "Up" during the part Up Above the World So High

7. Putting on sunglasses

6. Taking the magnets off the refrigerator and hiding them in the drawers next to it

5. Pressing the buttons on the Leap Frog magnets on the frig over and over

4. Trying to walk away from me when I crawl on the floor and pretend to chase her

3. Taking apart a picture frame with our family picture and pulling out what's inside

2. Carrying around a specific Willow Tree angel label

1. Handing Daddy books and then having to sit right on his lap (not beside or in front) as he reads it. She usually goes through this process multiple times a day.

Korinne's Baptism

Our niece Korinne was baptized yesterday. Lucky for us, that meant my dad came from Pulaski and we were able to spend the day with my family. The guys went golfing during the day while the ladies stayed home and played with the kids. The baptism was held at the 5:00 service, and it was very nice. Watching a baby be baptized is always such a special occasion because it is a chance to celebrate the gift that God has blessed us with. Following the church service, we went back to Brian and Molly's house for dinner. It was nice to catch up with everyone and be able to relax together for the evening.

Como Zoo

Friday was the annual Skala/Ebeling Zoo Trip. Every year, Matt's mom, sister, aunts, and cousins get together for a family day with all the kids at Como Zoo in St. Paul. Everyone wears red, packs a sack lunch, and meets at the zoo for a day of fun. This year was the first year I was able to attend as a mommy :) Last year, Kelsey was only a few weeks old when they went and I wasn't quite ready to tackle that yet. This was Kelsey's first time at the zoo as well. She was such a good girl and stayed very content as I pushed her around in the stroller. Since she is so independent with her walking now, I thought she might get antsy and want to be out and about. However, she didn't make a fuss at all. She even managed to sneak in a nap amongst all the craziness. With 16 kids to keep track of it was quite the crew. Kelsey and I had a fun time and look forward to it next summer.